Uncle Neji
by forced2Bafangirl
Summary: Neji would be the prefered babysitter for Naruto and Hinta, but what would happen the first time he babysat his nephew? Neji/TenTen Naruto/Hinata Shikamaru/Ino Sasuke/Sakura
1. Chapter 1

'Uncle Neji, Uncle Neji!'

Oh no.

'Look what I can do!'

Oh no.

The most hated words in Neji's vocabulary had been spoken by his nephew, "uncle Neji, look what I can do." This can only lead to trouble, Neji thought as he went outside to oblige the small voice that was calling for him. Hinata and Naruto had gone out of town for a mission, and had politely asked their friends if someone could baby-sit. Sasuke and Sakura had declined smiling saying that they weren't allowed any pets. Ino was on a mission somewhere, and without her Shikamaru couldn't handle the kid. TenTen, before she got her last minute mission, accepted. He had firmly resolved not to do any baby-sitting for any of his nieces or nephews when they came. Too bad that resolve doesn't work around his wife. 'Oh come on,' she had pleaded, 'they're your family. And family always helps out family in need.' He couldn't argue with her, so he had grudgingly agreed. Then a mission had come, and left Neji alone with his 5 yr. old nephew, Nariaki. (equal clarity)

At first Neji had some difficulty finding the boy. Until he heard giggling coming from above him and he looked up. He hadn't really expected to find Nariaki. He really hadn't expected to find the boy on the roof. On the edge of the roof.

This is bad. Hinata's gonna kill me if he gets hurt. 'Nariaki!' he called out, keeping the panic from creeping into his voice. 'Get down here right now!' and immediately regretted the choice of words he had used. For the boy had shrugged, said 'OK' and jumped. Not just jumped, dive bombed. Laughing. Watching as his uncle became frantic. Wanting to surprise the man, Nariaki changed his course. Meanwhile, Neji looks all around where Nariaki should have landed. Saying to himself, 'I am the WORST baby-sitter in the world. I have my nephew for one day, and I kill him. I watch him for one hour, and he already gets hurt.' Then another thought came into his head 'How did Nariaki get on the roof?' Not finding the boy, he starts looking for how to get on the roof by a 5 yr. old's standards. Deeply engrossed in his searching, Neji never notices his nephew creeping up on him until…

'whatcha doin?'

'Nariki! You startled me.' Neji quickly gave the boy a once over. Not a scratch. After thinking some, makes sense. Naruto IS his father. Then he asked the question that was bothering him. 'How did you get on the roof? I don't see a ladder, there are no overhanging branches, so how did you do it?'

'Oh that? That was easy! I just gathered chakra at my feet, jump, and' the boy had been showing his uncle while he explained. When he said "jump" he had jumped and landed nimbly on the roof. Jumping off, he lightly landed. 'How do you not get hurt?' 'Not sure. Mom's still deciding on whether or not she's glad that I don't get hurt.' I can see where she's coming from. On the one hand, he doesn't get hurt. On the other, he does more dangerous stunts that others would never think of doing, and she's not sure which would be better. To have a child that doesn't get hurt as often but performs dangerous stunts, or one that gets hurt often but isn't into as dangerous things. 'How come you didn't land over there?' 'Oh that? I can control where I go, where I land, and how soft I land.' This child is a wonder. He has his father's energy, but he has his mother's reasoning abilities which he used to make sure his wild schemes will turn out, and no one gets hurt.

'Why don't we go inside for a bit?'

'Awww, but there's nothing to do inside.' Nariaki whined.

'It's lunch time. Why don't I fix you some' Neji thought to what he could use to bribe the boy. 'ramen?'

The boy perked up. 'Ramen? Really? I LOVE RAMEN!' The boy began pulling his uncle into the house. 'Come on! Let's MOVE!' Neji allowed himself to be pulled and chuckled to himself. 'He really is, his father's child.

Later that night,

'Mommy! Daddy!'

'How are you?' Naruto asked his son, while his wife talked with her cousin.

'Thanks for looking after him so well. He had fun.'

'Once I got him inside and off the roof it was fine. Oops.' Neji saw the look on Hinata's face.

'Didn't you read the note?'

'What note?'

Hinata turned and glared at Naruto. 'You didn't give him the note?'

'Yes I did.' Naruto was a little indignant. 'I folded it up, put it in my pocket, and oops.' Naruto had put his hand in his pocket and came out with the note in his hand. He hung his head in shame. 'Sorry'

Looking at Neji, Hinata explained. 'We give every new baby-sitter a note explaining about Nariaki. We have found it makes their lives easier, and less frantic. Sorry about the trouble caused by this. It won't happen again, _right_ _Naruto_? He nodded and handed Neji the note. It was a list of things to expect from Nariaki, and of does and don'ts. And on there was "15) Don't let Nariaki outside without you there. He will find a way onto the roof and jump off. He will not be hurt, but it is extremely dangerous and we are discouraging such reckless behavior."

They talked for a bit longer until Naruto noticed Nariaki trying to hid a yawn, and motioned to the others. Hinata saw this and, chuckling, took the sleeping child into her arms. They said goodnight, and left to tuck their son into bed.

Neji was still chuckling to himself about his day when TenTen came back. 'So, how was your day with Nariaki?' she asked. Neji wouldn't lie to her and said what came to mind when he thought back to what he had been through. 'It was…an adventure.' He told her all that had happened that day. 'That boy is so much like his father. Boundless energy, near invulnerability, and an obsession with ramen.' 'But you forgot how much like is mother he is.' thinking Neji replied 'You're right. It's just his father's side is more boisterous and demands more attention, so you almost forget about her half.'

Thinking about all that her poor husband had to deal with alone, TenTen wondered if now would be a good time to tell her secret.


	2. Chapter 2

It seemed like an average day in Konaha. Ninja were coming in and out of the village, to and from missions from the Hokage. Walking down the street to Ichiruka's, Neji didn't think that it was an average day. It wasn't a good day to him. It was a great day. The night before he found out he was to be a father. And he couldn't keep the smile off his face. He wondered if this was how Naruto felt all the time with his grin constantly plastered on his face. With thoughts of his unborn child dominating his mind, he didn't notice the blond haired ninja that was his new relative. Luckily for him, Naruto was paying a little closer attention to his surroundings.

'hey! You better watch where you're going or you'll walk into something.' Naruto said, snapping Neji back to Earth.

'huh? Oh, sorry Naruto. I didn't see you there.' Neji was still smiling, and Naruto was a little confused.

'Neji?'

'what is it?'

'why are you smiling?'

'what do you mean?' Neji's smile went away as he looked confused, but it still managed to creep back onto his face.

'I mean, you haven't stopped smiling since I saw you come down the street. What's going on?'

"well, if anyone should be the first to find out about this it should be family, right? And Naruto IS family," Neji thought to himself.

'I just found out that I'm going to be a father.'

Naruto reacted just as Neji thought he would. Loud and enthusiastically. 'CONGRATULATIONS! Now Nariaki will have TWO little siblings to watch.'

Neji was confused until he thought of something, 'Is Hinata…?'

'yep.' both soon-to-be fathers were grinning ear to ear.

Sakura and Ino had gone to do some shopping when they noticed Neji and Naruto standing in front of Ichiruka's and grinning like stupid idiots at each other. Wondering what was going on with those two, the girls walked over.

'what's going on?' Sakura asked.

'NEJI'S GOING TO BE A FATHER!' Naruto screamed

Ino and Sakura gasped. Turning to look at Neji, they asked if it was true. Still smiling, he nodded. The girls screamed and forgot about the rest of their shopping as they headed off to see TenTen.

Meanwhile, TenTen had been doing some weapons practicing, she was only in her first month and she didn't want to get rusty. She stopped when she heard the shrieks. She turned around and saw Ino and Sakura come running up to her. They were gibbering so fast and at the same time that she couldn't understand much of what they were saying. She did pick up a few words like, Neji, Ichiruka's, and there might have even been a congratulations in there. She calmed the two down so that they could talk. They, of course, wanted to know how Neji had reacted when she told him. 'to be honest, at first I thought I broke him. He just sat there, looking at me, frozen. It kind of scared me a little, he wasn't even blinking. I had to said his name five times before he reacted. Then this slow smile crept onto his face, and his eyes kind of got a faraway look to them. When he got back to normal he was grinning kind of like Naruto does all the time, and he hugged me so tight I had trouble breathing.' Ino and Sakura responded like, well like Ino and Sakura, with an "awwwww", and a squeal. Remembering her cousin, TenTen asked if they knew about Hinata yet. The blank looks she received told her no. 'it looks like Nariaki isn't going to be an only child anymore.' TenTen told them grinning. She then had to cover her ears because the screeching was too loud.

'the doctor said not to do that anymore. You have to rest.'

'Neji. Seriously. I'm fine.'

'I'm not going to be the one to tell Sakura that you aren't following her directions. Sometimes she can be as scary as Tsunade.'

Rolling her eyes, TenTen sat down in the chair. She was now in her 5th month, and Neji was very protective of her. "if this is how protective he is now, how is he going to be when our girl comes." She thought.

'Naruto. Naruto. NARUTO!'

'huh? Did you say something?' Naruto was ripped from his thoughts by his wife's voice.

sigh. 'Did you talk to Nariaki yet?'

'no, but I am planning on doing it today.' Hinata looks at him. 'I mean right now. Nariaki! I would like to speak to you!' he knew what that look meant.

'coming dad! What did you want to talk to me about?'

'well, you have been an only child for a long time. This is going to change soon. You are going to be a big brother. And that means that you have to take care of your baby sister. You have to protect her, and make sure that she doesn't get hurt. She will want to copy everything you do, so you have to be careful when you are around her that you don't do anything dangerous. You are also going to have to be very careful because babies are very fragile. Do you think that you can do that? Do you think that you can be a good big brother to your new baby sister?'

Looking at his father very seriously, Nariaki nods. He understands that his new baby sister is going to look up to him, and that it is going to be his job to take care of her and protect her. He is going to be the best big brother out there, he thinks.

Tousling his son's blond hair, Naruto smiles.

Watching the two of them, Hinata smiles.

'Naruto, if you don't calm down right now, I'm going to kick you out!'

'ok. Sorry, Sakura.'

3 seconds later

'THAT'S IT, NARUTO! OUT! Out, out, out, out, out, out, out, out, out, out!'

'but what did I do? Ow! Why'd you hit me?'

'OUT!'

'ok, ok. I'm going. Sheesh.'

Naruto went into the waiting room holding his head. Neji had heard all of this and was sitting there chuckling to himself.

'Oy Neji! Did you get kicked out too?'

'no. I didn't think that it would be appropriate for me to be in there.'

In truth, he didn't think that he could just sit there when his wife was in so much pain. At the first scream he was on his feet. He paced around the waiting room, and with every scream he would stop and look towards the door, worry clearly written on his face. Naruto wasn't fairing much better.

After what seemed like an eternity later, Sakura came out, smiling, and holding a child wrapped up in a fuzzy pink blanket. Gently handing the girl to her father, she told Naruto that he could go back in and see Hinata. Hurrying as fast as he could without harming his daughter, he ran through the doors nearly knocking Sakura to the ground. 'that was still better than last time.' Sakura said to no one in particular. Worried, Neji went up to the medic. 'how's TenTen? Is she ok?' Sakura couldn't help but think about the change in her friend. She remembered him back when they were gennin trying to become chunnin. "he was so cold and distant then." she thought. Looking at his face and the worry that was threatening to turn into panic, she needed to try to reassure him. 'she's fine. I have to go back, but she's strong. She'll be all right.' mumbling that she's going to be ok to himself, he went back to pacing, his speed increasing with every turn.

'who are you trying to race?'

Neji looked up to see his old teammate Lee and their sensei Gai standing there. 'what are you two doing here?'

'we heard that TenTen was in the hospital and we came to see how she's doing.' at this point a particularly loud scream could be heard. 'what is going on in there?' Lee asked.

Confused Neji said, 'didn't you guys hear? She's giving birth right now.'

'what?!'

'Ahh. The next generation of youth.'

Neji tuned them out when they started talking about youth, just like he used to.

Sakura came out once more, but this time she wasn't holding a baby. Neji was worried, thinking that something had happened. Her smile told him that everything was ok, as she led him down the hall and into a room where an exhausted TenTen laid holding their girl. He gently walked over to her and smiled down upon his family. Smiling the weary smile that all new mothers have, she gave Neji his daughter, and saw his face soften. She had been thinking about what her name should be and thought that Hotaru (firefly) sounded nice.

'how about Hoshimi?'

'hmm. Starlight. I like it. What do you think, Hoshimi?'

giggle 'I think she likes it. Hoshimi it is.'

'Hoshimi! Come back here! Awww, come on Hotaru!'

Nariaki was watching his little sister and her friend (their cousin). Ever since Hoshimi came home, he had calmed down drastically. He took his role of big brother very seriously. Some might even say too seriously. Some might say he was overprotective of her, but that was only because he cared about her so much. He didn't want anything bad to happen to his baby sister.

'Nariaki, I have a date tonight. Can you _please_ not scare this one off. I really like him.' Hoshimi was fifteen and her overprotective brother scared many of her dates. They were afraid that he, or her father, would hurt them if they did anything. It was generally very awkward when Nariaki had to go on the date with her as a chaperone.

'you know I only do it because I care about you.'

'I know. But please. Be nice. No threatening, no physically or mentally harming him, and if he does something, let ME take care of it if I don't like it. I can't have you ruining my date because he's afraid to put his arm around me because of you and what you might do. You know that you've got dad's strength. And besides, Hotaru and her date are going too. I'll be fine.'

'I'm so excited.'

'I understand that, but can you stop wiggling in your seat. You're making it hard for me to do this Hotaru.'

'sorry mom. I just can't believe it, Akioshi actually asked me out. And when I said that it would have to be a group date, he just asked who else was going. He knew that Eiji liked Hoshimi, and he's not afraid of her brother! Well. Not completely anyway. We're going to have an awesome time!'

The boys were very cordial to the parents, and Nariaki was on his best behavior when Eiji showed up to pick up Hoshimi. Akioshi was like his name, bright and good, and Eiji (two protectors) promised to bring Hoshimi home safe and sound before curfew. They saw a movie that was slightly scary, allowing the girls to hold the hand of their date, and for the guys to put an arm around Hoshimi and Hotaru. At dinner, they talked about the movie, their parents, and some of the missions that they have gone on. At ten o'clock sharp, Hoshimi was in front of her house, and with a good night hug and a promise to call the next day, Eiji reluctantly walked home. At the same time Hotaru was being escorted up the walk to her front door. Akioshi was a perfect gentlemen, and with the same promise of a call, and a good night hug, he too walked home. All four teens enjoyed the evening and couldn't wait for it to happen again. The girls called each other, and even though they were both there, they talked the entire night about their dates. The guys, on the other hand, waited for the next day. They nodded to each other at the ramen bar and talked about what was good on the date, what could be improved for the next date, and thought about their respective girl over bowls of ramen. All were happy and all were smiling as they thought about next time.


End file.
